Hide & Seek
by SqueakGirl
Summary: As children, Loki and Thor enjoy playing a game of hide and seek. Thor's not very good at hiding, and Loki secretly enjoys being found.


Trying something new here. This is my first fan fic for Thor and Loki.

**Summary: **As children, Loki and Thor enjoy playing a game of hide and seek. Thor's not very good at hiding, and Loki secretly enjoys being found.

**Rating:** K

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Hide & Seek

From his hiding spot behind the golden draperies, Loki watched the dining hall grow dark as the sun outside set. Candles flickered in sconces hanging from the walls while a large candelabrum cast a warm glow over a wide rustic table. No one remained in the dining hall now that supper had ended.

Sitting back so that his back pressed up against the cool stone wall, Loki stretched out his legs, twitching his feet back and forth. He'd been sitting in the dining hall for nearly an hour now and had watched the sun make a slow trek across the room. Shifting his position so that he leaned slightly out from behind the heavy material from the drapes, Loki checked the room again. He was still alone.

A familiar noise sounded in the distance.

Bringing his knees to his chest, Loki smirked to himself as he heard the distinct 'clunk-clunk' of his brother's oversized boots. The footsteps echoed off the walls, reverberating even louder than normal in the quiet room.

A few seconds later, Thor had lumbered his way into the dining hall. For only a boy of nine, Thor was tall for his age and had no trouble making his presence known. However, his boots were two sizes too big. Loki shook his head as Thor stumbled his way towards the dining table. He knelt for a moment, checking under the chairs, looking for something. He straightened up and glanced over his shoulder. Then turning back to the room, Thor scanned the perimeter with his eyes finally landing on the draperies on the opposite wall.

Without a backward glance, Thor made a beeline straight towards the draperies. He shuffled awkwardly in his big boots, his hand outstretched and ready to pull back the curtain.

"I know where you are, brother!"

In his hiding spot, Loki flicked his wrist towards the doorway in which Thor had entered. The door gave a loud creak and a small figure dressed in green and black darted out from under the table and through the door. Thor stood with his mouth hanging open, watching the door sway. Then turning on his heels, he bolted after the figure.

"Haha! I saw you, Loki!"

Thor disappeared from sight leaving behind only the echoes of his oversized boots clomping against the stone floor. Loki emerged from his hiding spot behind the drapery and stretched his arms up over his head. He grinned to himself, sauntering out of the dining hall after his brother.

He enjoyed this part of the game, following Thor as he lumbered through the halls in his search. Loki would always be several steps behind, well hidden from his brother, yet with Thor in his complete sight. His brother never knew, and that made Loki nearly dizzy with excitement. He was the one who controlled when Thor found him or not. He could watch Thor stumble around, blindly searching and yet it was by Loki's own will that Thor would ever be given the chance to find him.

Up ahead, Thor slipped into their shared bedchambers. The vast room held two beds directly opposite from one another. Thor's bed lay disheveled; blankets strewn upon the floor. Several wooden swords and shields cluttered in the corner with the rest of Thor's toys. The sun setting outside cast a long beam of light over Thor's side of the room. Loki could see tiny dust motes swimming in and out of the beam.

Thor had run over to Loki's side of the room which was cooler and darker now that the sun had moved its way across the sky. Loki's bed had been neatly made with his boots stacked in a row at its end. Loki's personal belongings were never left out. Instead he had several wooden and stone boxes pressed against the wall where his favorite toys stayed hidden

Loki hid next to the door, watching as Thor scrambled underneath Loki's bed, still searching. His brother emerged a minute later covered in dust, but still wearing a determined expression. He whipped around towards their closet and began looking amongst the tunics and capes held within. While Thor was occupied, Loki tiptoed over to Thor's side of the room. He moved a chair next to Thor's bed, and then flung a blanket over it to drape half on the bed and half on the chair. Loki then crawled beneath it and waited.

It was an obvious hiding spot, but Loki had grown tired of the hiding game and now wished for it to end. Thor would not notice the obviousness of the hiding spot. He always rushed about giving little thought to his surroundings. He had gone straight to Loki's bed and then the closet, nothing else in the room would have drawn his attention unless he chose to give it his attention.

Thor clambered out from the closet, and Loki could hear his thick boots stop dead in the middle of the room. He heard his brother give a gasp of excitement. Loki smirked, his brother had noticed.

With a frenzied clomping of boots, Thor approached the strangely arranged blankets. He gave a mighty tug and pulled them away to reveal Loki lying upon his stomach between the bed and chair. He grinned up at Thor.

"You found me, brother," Loki sighed. He pushed himself up on his knees. "I thought you'd never find me."

Thor tackled his brother to the ground, laughing.

"Of course I would find you! I always do, brother!"

Loki suppressed a snicker. "Yes, you're very good at hide and seek."

Thor beamed as he got up off of Loki, allowing the thinner boy to sit up again.

"Now, I should hide, and you find me!" Thor said eagerly, rocking back and forth on his heels. Loki shook his head.

"I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"I'm done playing for the night."

Thor pouted. He tugged at Loki's hair. "Come on, brother, play."

Loki shoved him away. "No."

"Play!" Thor pushed Loki back.

"No, Thor." Loki struggled to his feet, but Thor clung to his arm. The two boys tussled with one another. They ended up tumbling to the ground. Loki tried to free himself from Thor's grasp, but his brother's grip was two strong. Being the larger of the too, Thor managed to pin his little brother to the ground. Loki lay with his face pressed against the stone floor with Thor sitting upon his legs.

"Play with me!" Thor demanded.

Loki tried to hit Thor in the face.

"Get off me!"

"It's not fair you got to hide for so long! I should get to be the hider now!" Thor argued lamely. Loki tried to roll over but Thor's weight kept him pinned. Their room had grown dark with the sun now completely set.

"It wouldn't be any fun!" Loki snapped back, still struggling. He clawed at the ground, hoping he could pull his body out from underneath his brother. "You can't hide to save your life!"

"I can too!"

"Cannot!"

"Can too!"

Light flooded the room.

"Boys! What is this?" It was their mother Frigga. She held a lamp in her hand and cast the light over both her sons. She frowned. "Thor, get off your brother! You know better than to fight."

Thor obeyed. Once Loki was free, he scrambled up and ran to his mother's side. He pressed his face into the long flowing material of her gown and faked a sob.

"Thor hurt me, mother."

"He would not let me be the hider!" Thor argued, stomping up behind Loki. He made to bump Loki on the shoulder, but Frigga caught his hand.

"See!" Loki cried. "He will hurt me!"

Frigga smoothed back Loki's hair. She knelt before him, examining his face.

"No bumps or bruises," she murmured. "I'm sure Thor didn't mean to hurt you. He does not know his own strength sometimes, do you?" She looked up at her eldest son. "You didn't mean to hurt your brother."

Thor shook his head. "No. I wanted him to play. He wouldn't."

Frigga tugged Thor closer. She pulled each boy into a one armed hug. She gave them each a long look before speaking.

"Now, Thor, if Loki did not want to play, you cannot force him," Frigga explained, taking each boy's hand and leading them to their respective beds. She waited until they were each engaged in pulling on their night clothes before she continued, "Not all things will go your way, boys, but it should never be an excuse to fight. Thor, if your brother did not want to play then you should have let him be."

Thor nodded as he climbed up onto his bed. He began untangling his blankets.

Frigga looked at Loki.

"And, Loki, would not it have been fair to allow your brother a turn at hiding? He should not have hit you, but it would have been a nice gesture to give your brother a turn."

Loki grimaced, but kept his face hidden from his mother. When he'd managed to fix his expression into one of remorse he turned to her.

"You are right, Mother."

Frigga smiled. "You are both very good boys, and I love you both." She moved to Loki's bed and kissed the boy goodnight. She then crossed the room to Thor and did the same. Picking up her lamp and exiting the room, she left the two boys in the dark to sleep.

An hour or two later, Loki lay awake staring at the cool moonlight dancing upon the ceiling. He could see the shadows of trees cutting across the light, swaying back and forth. A bumping noise sounded to his left, and Loki rolled over to find Thor crawling into his bed. He lay with his face turned towards Loki. For a moment neither boy spoke.

"Did I really hurt you, brother?" Thor whispered his voice tight.

Loki turned his gaze back to the ceiling. "Yes," he lied.

Thor draped an arm over his brother's chest and tugged him into a hug. He buried his face in Loki's dark hair.

"I'm sorry."

Loki closed his eyes. "I don't care."

That was a lie too.

Several days later found the boys playing another game of hide and seek. Like the previous game, Loki hid and Thor spent hours searching for him or at least that's what Loki had expected would happen. Instead, something new occurred. Rather than toying with his brother for an hour or two while he searched, Loki was startled to find Thor did no searching whatsoever.

Loki had waited in one of the vast hallways, concealed behind an ugly statue of a man wrestling some monstrous creature with too many horns. He waited, watching the door at the right side of the hallway, expecting his brother to come bursting through it at any minute. However, nearly an hour had passed and still no sign of Thor. Loki could not even hear his brother's heavy footsteps clomping about to indicate where he was located within the palace.

Suddenly, Loki felt panic well up inside his chest. What if Thor had stopped looking for him? What if he'd grown tired of the game and simply moved on to something else? Loki scrambled out of his spot and rushed back to his bedroom where he had left Thor earlier, counting to twenty before he began his search.

And that's where he found him. Sitting on his bed where Loki had left him to count. Thor sat cross-legged, retying a leather string around the hilt of a wooden sword. Loki stood in the doorway, gaping at his brother. Anger filled him.

"What are you doing?" Loki marched his way right up to Thor's bed. "Why are you not searching?"

Thor waved at his brother. "But I already found you, why do I need to search?"

Loki froze. "What?"

Thor grinned. "Why do I need to search for you, when you're right here, brother?"

Loki sneered. "That does not count. You have to leave this room and search for me."

Thor slid off the bed and stood before his brother. He frowned down at Loki. "Why should I go looking for you, if you won't go looking for me?"

"So, you would leave me to stay hidden?" Loki asked, feeling the panic filling up inside him.

Thor looked guilty. "I did not mean that, brother."

"But you left me alone! I waited in the hall, and you never came to look!" Loki cried. He clutched at the front of his tunic, finding his chest suddenly very tight.

Thor's face fell, and he glanced at the door before saying, "Don't cry."

"I'm not going to cry!" Loki snapped, but he felt the sting of tears in the corners of his eyes nonetheless. He marched away from his brother towards his side of the room. Thor followed him.

"You aren't going to tell Mother or Father?" Thor pleaded, watching Loki carefully. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Loki frowned. "Yes you did! You wouldn't come find me! That is mean."

"I promise I won't do it again."

"I will tell Mother and Father that you would leave me alone to die!" Loki said raising his voice. He glanced at the door. Thor did the same.

"Loki, shhh! Be quiet. I didn't mean to leave you alone. Honest, brother!" Thor pleaded. Loki ignored him, keeping his back towards his brother.

"You would leave me all alone to rot, wouldn't you?" Loki pressed. He sneaked a glance over his shoulder. Thor rubbed at his eyes, sniffing. Loki looked away again.

"I promise I wouldn't. Why are you being so mean?"

"I'm not the mean one. You left me alone."

"I promise – I promise I'll always come look for you, Loki, if you're hiding."

"You swear?"

"Yes! I will swear it…swear it…on Father's life!" Thor made a fist and placed it over his heart. He screwed up his face in what he probably thought heroic. Loki laughed.

"Good." Loki turned around, pleased now that he'd gotten his brother to do as he wanted.

Thor dropped his arm and took a step closer. He leaned in confidentially as if the room held an audience. Loki gave his brother a wary look.

"You have to swear to come look for me if I'm hidden, brother," Thor said in a loud whisper. Loki frowned.

"I would go looking for you," Thor continued explaining, "It's only fair you do the same for me."

Loki crossed his arms over his chest.

"I was not the one who left someone all alone in the hallway," he challenged. Thor punched him lightly in the shoulder, grinning.

"I said I was sorry, Loki. Now, promise you'll come find me too!"

Rubbing at his arm, Loki pursed his lips. "No."

Thor's face fell. "But you have to promise."

"I'm not promising because you are too easy to find! I wouldn't have to even look!" Loki rushed out. "Playing the seeker is no fun when the hider doesn't know how to hide!"

"I don't know how to hide?" Thor asked, pointing at himself and giving Loki a puzzled look.

"Yes, you do not know how to hide." Loki tried looking down his nose at his brother which proved difficult given that Thor was several inches taller than Loki.

"How do I hide?" Thor asked genuinely curious.

"Like a wild boar trying to tiptoe through glass," Loki chided. Thor furrowed his brow. Loki sighed and pointed at Thor's feet. "Your shoes, Thor! Why do you wear them? I can hear you approach from leagues away!"

Thor glanced down at his thick, oversized boots. He grinned.

"But I like these boots! They are warrior's boots!" Thor thumped himself on the chest almost like a salute. Loki shook his head.

"I can't go looking for you in these! I know where you are right away and then there is no more fun," Loki explained, bending down to tug at one of the boot's laces.

"But you win if you find me faster, so my boots help you, brother," Thor said, clicking his heels together.

"It's no fun that way." Loki held out his hands, shaking his head with a small grin. "Isn't chasing far more fun? A longer game is more fun than a short one."

Thor pondered that idea for a moment and then without a word flopped down upon the floor. He proceeded to tug off his boots and hurl them across the room towards his bed. Now barefoot he hopped back up and grinned.

"Will you search for me now?"

Loki rolled his eyes.

Thor tugged on Loki's arm. "Please?"

"…alright."

Thor gave a whoop of excitement and then bolted for the door. He stopped right inside the threshold and then spun around, pointing a finger at Loki.

"You promise to come find me?"

Loki threw up his hands, annoyed at Thor's insistence. "Yes! I'll come find you! I promise. Now go away!"

Thor bared his teeth in a huge grin and then departed from the room.

Staying perfectly still, Loki listened to his brother's heavy footfalls pounding through the hallways. Even without the boots, the slap of his bare feet upon the ground still left thunderous echoes.

Turning on his heel, Loki walked back to his bed and sat down. He started counting out loud. As he did so, he pulled out one of his many books, and lay back upon his pillows. By the time he'd reached the designated twenty counts, he'd immersed himself in the book's story.

He'd promised Thor he'd come find him…he never said when.

Let's see how Thor likes being left alone in a hallway for an hour or two.

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Thank you for reading. Feel free to review and comment. Constructive criticism is welcomed.


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